The Epitome of Class
by LovelyWolf
Summary: The tale of one little girl's somber experiences aboard the Titanic.


Yet another paper I had to write for my 8th period AP English class. This time I had to either write a continuation about one of the characters from the book A Night To Remember, which contains the actual accounts of survivors from the Titanic, or I had to make up my own character and tell about what happened to them(which is what I finally decided to do.) It's a little sad, but what happened to the Titanic is one of the world's most horrific tragedies. On a lighter note, enjoy!

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**The Epitome of Class**

To Cassidy Spencer, the 1st class courters of the Titanic were a dream come true. Her families cabin (if it could be called that) was spacious, the walls plastered with ornate, soft gold wallpaper, the carpet plush and incredible to the touch, the furniture looking as if it was meant for royalty. The mahogany wood of the grand staircase leading to her cabin inlaid with spidery lines of glittering gold, the cherub statue at its base, the illustrious lamps bathing her in their lush light all seemed to welcome her into their pure luxury. Even the people aboard the ship seemed to be of the utmost elegance. The women an image of class and grace, their intoxicatingly sweet voices leaving the young girl grasping onto every word as she eavesdropped on their conversations with the young men in the 1st class smoking room. This was the world all little girls dreamed of belonging to.

But Cassidy Spencer wasn't exactly a prominent member of this high class society (being only the tender age of seven) Cassidy mostly kept to her mother, the very prominent Mrs. Wilona Spencer, and dreamt of the day she too would posses such class.

Presently the pair was seated in the 1st Class Lounge, Mrs. Spencer making small talk with some of the other high class women while Cassidy lounged in a seat next to her, tugging at the hem of her dress and stockings or day dreaming, fighting to keep from drifting off. It was around 10:00 pm, long past Cassidy's bed-time, and the small girl had long since lost interest in the older woman's conversation. What they spoke of wasn't nearly as appetizing as the idea of a good rest, no matter how fascinated Cassidy was with the class and grace of everything that surrounded her. Noticing her daughter's demeanor, Mrs. Spencer spoke up.

"Come now, Cassidy. I'm far too tired to keep awake much longer. Let's head off to bed." She said, faining a yawn for her daughters sake. So Mrs. Spencer, dressed in a shimmering gold evening gown and an ermine fur coat, gently lead a very sleepy Cassidy out of the 1st class lounge, across the Promenade deck, and up the polished steps of the grand stairway for the last time that night. This would be the last time either of the Spencer ladies saw the 1st class deck in such a state of calm.

The next time Cassidy would awake, it would be to a much more distressing situation. At around 12:55, a stray steward politely knocked on the cabin door, awaking both Mr. and Mrs. Spencer along with small Cassidy. Mr. Spencer stepped out of bed, pulled on his robe, and answered the door. The steward spoke hurriedly so that Cassidy couldn't make out his words and then proceeded to hand Mr. Spencer three life jackets before hurrying on to the next cabin. Mr. Spencer then turned and spoke softly to his wife.

"We've struck an iceberg and the steward says it's mandatory that all women and children report on deck." He whispered "I'm heading across the hall to see what everyone else makes of this. You better ready yourself, dear." Said Mr. Henry Spencer bending down and kissing his wife before hurrying off down the hall after the steward. Mrs. Spencer turned pale and called for her maid to come help them dress.

Before Cassidy really knew what was happening, her mother had plucked her out of bed, pulled a coat onto her and fastened a bright orange life jacket onto her. A slew of questions flooded the young girls head. While her mother and their maid were working to dress her, Cassidy was afforded a view through their porthole: it was pitch black outside, with nothing but the stars to tell that you were looking at the sky and not the ocean below. Clearly it was still nighttime, why in the world had the steward awoken them? And what was it that her father had said that had made mother get so frantic?

"What's wrong mother? Where did dad go? Where are we going? Why did that steward wake us?" Cassidy bombarded her mother.

"It's alright Cassidy," said Mrs. Spencer leading her daughter and their maid out into the hall, locking the cabin door behind her, "we're just heading up to the deck to look around, that's all. There's nothing to worry about." The three ladies were soon joined by a slew of other 1st class women flooding onto the Promenade deck in their night clothes and coats. When they finally made it outside, the cold night air stung at Cassidy's checks, and the small girl felt herself wanting to cry in all of this confusion.

"All right, Women and Children into the boats! Women and Children!" Yelled a seaman from a post above. To Cassidy's distaste her mother pushed her forward to one of the lifeboats. One of the seamen held out a hand to help her in, but Cassidy shrunk back, the shock and confusion of the situation making her unsure and shy.

"Go ahead sweetie, get in. I'm right behind you." Her mother encouraged her, and Cassidy bravely reached out and took the mans hand, who helped her swing over into the smaller boat, which seemed rickety compared to the great ship. Next the Spencer's maid piled into the boat and then, to Cassidy's pure horror, her mother backed away from the life boat.

"I'm going off to look for Henry. I'll meet up with the two of you. Take care of her, Margaret." Mrs. Spencer said to her maid, who nodded her assent.

"But mother! Don't leave! Please…!" Said little Cassidy, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It'll be alright, dear. I'll see you again, I promise." Mrs. Spencer yelled over the crowd as their lifeboat was being lowered. "Be brave Cassidy! Be brave!"

That was the biggest lie Cassidy had ever heard, she knows it now and she knew it then when their lifeboat splashed into the ice-cold seawater, the strong oarsmen propelling them off into the night, farther and farther away from the illustrious ship, and the classy women, and the possibility of it ever coming true.


End file.
